HAYWARD — Tenants will enjoy some protections from steep rent hikes and possible displacement under rules approved by the City Council.

The new regulations establish a mandatory mediation and binding arbitration process between tenants and their landlords when rent is raised by more than 5 percent in a year.

The rules also prohibit discrimination against people applying for housing who plan to use government vouchers to pay their rent, and it protects renters against retaliation by landlords for exercising their rights under the ordinance.

Plus, it affirms tenants cannot be evicted without “just cause,” such as failing to pay rent, engaging in crime or violating the terms of their lease.

“It’s a huge subject, and we have really tried to be fair to everyone, I think,” Mayor Barbara Halliday said about the effort to create the safeguards.

The new regulations, unanimously approved by the council Tuesday, apply to multi-unit residential properties built before 1979, and exempt all houses and condominiums, a requirement under state law.

Councilwoman Aisha Wahab said the council’s action would help “thousands of people.”

“That is what I really want to convey to people,” Wahab said. “I genuinely believe housing is a human right, and I don’t view housing as a commodity.”

The new Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance will come back before the council for a second reading and vote June 25. If passed, it will take effect on July 25.

Other requirements of the ordinance include requiring landlords to begin filing residential rent increase notices and eviction notices with the city as part of an effort to develop a database to track housing trends within Hayward.

Some said the legislation, which effectively replaces a 1983 ordinance, does not offer tenants enough protections amid the Bay Area’s sky-high rents.

On Friday, a one-bedroom apartment on Mohr Drive was available for $1,800 a month, according to Zillow, the real estate site. A two-bedroom apartment was for rent on Gary Drive for $2,600.

“While we appreciate many of the protections that were provided in the ordinance, including ‘just cause’ eviction protections, we are asking the City Council to go further and revise this proposed ordinance to add rent control with an annual threshold according to the Consumer Price Index, instead of 5 percent,” Allie Lahey of the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America told the council.

The Consumer Price Index, which tracks costs for household goods and services, is up 1.8 percent compared with May of last year, according to the Labor Department.

“This could make a huge difference to families here in Hayward,” Lahey said.

“We are excited about the revisions to this ordinance,” Hislop said. “As a dispute resolutions services agency, we always think that mediation and communication is the first step to solving any issue.”

The new legislation prevents landlords from having a vacant unit built before 1979 permanently exempted from local rent increase regulations in exchange for making improvements to the property.

Landlords, however, can still raise rents on pre-1979 rentals to the current market rate each time a tenant voluntarily moves out.

The new regulations are expected to cost the city about $358,000 annually, including hiring someone to help administer the program and a consultant to provide mediation and arbitration services.

There are an estimated 22,237 rental units in Hayward. A 2017 survey found 55 percent of Hayward tenants are spending more than 30 percent of their household income on rent. Rents also increased in the city 46 percent while the median income of renters increased 25 percent from 2013 to 2017, according to a city report.